The 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.), accusing him of contributing to some of the challenges Nigeria faces today.
Babangida, popularly known as IBB, marked his 85th birthday on Monday, August 17, and received congratulatory messages from political leaders and other Nigerians.
He served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1985 to 1993 before stepping aside following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was widely believed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola.
However, in a post on his verified X account, Sowore questioned the celebration surrounding Babangida’s birthday and criticised his record in office.
According to the AAC presidential candidate, Nigeria would have been in a better position today if Babangida had exercised power differently during his years in government.
Sowore accused the former military ruler of making decisions that, in his view, encouraged corruption, weakened democratic institutions and created problems that continued to affect subsequent generations.
He said Nigerians should look beyond the birthday celebrations and examine the long-term consequences of the decisions taken during Babangida’s administration.
Sowore wrote: “Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, the man who did Nigeria dirty, is being celebrated by his cronies on his 85th birthday.
“He lived long but is no longer living well; but had he not been so wicked and selfish in the exercise of power, Nigeria would not be where it is today.
“History should remember not just the birthday celebrations, but the consequences of the choices he made while holding power that ruined Nigeria.”
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